Jeremy VanDerLinden’s 53
Quarterback (2):
Aaron Rodgers
Scott Tolzien
Okay, last week I put three QBs here. However, I just cannot see it happening. The Packers are lead by very stubborn people. One season of injury issues will not change the way they build the roster. Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy rarely do what fans and media find to be obvious moves. That will not be changing here.
Halfback (3):
Eddie Lacy
James Starks
DuJuan Harris
No need for change here.
Fullback (1):
John Kuhn
No changes here.
Tight End (4):
Richard Rodgers
Andrew Quarless
Jake Stoneburner
Ryan Taylor
Short term IR: Brandon Bostick
With the Packers not having Brandon Bostick available for a few weeks it makes sense that they would keep Ryan Taylor and Jake Stoneburner. If Bostick is put on short term IR it would make room for both of them.
Wide Receiver (5):
Jordy Nelson
Randall Cobb
Jarrett Boykin
Davante Adams
Jeff Janis
Nothing to change here.
Offensive Tackle (4):
David Bakhtiari
Brian Bulaga
Derek Sherrod
Aaron Adams
Nothing to change here.
Offensive Guard (3):
Josh Sitton
T.J. Lang
Lane Taylor
Nothing to change here.
Center (2):
J.C. Tretter
Corey Linsley
This is rough. J.C. Tretter played his tail off and won the starting job. Only to get injured and miss the first few weeks of the season. Corey Linsley will be fine and the Packers are preparing for Josh Sitton to be his backup. Also, T.J. Lang played some center last year. Even though the depth at offensive line has become thinner, the Packers are still going to start the season with a solid group.
Defensive Linemen (6):
Mike Daniels
Datone Jones
Josh Boyd
Khyri Thornton
Mike Pennel
Letroy Guion
In the blink of an eye B.J. Raji went from being a potential comeback player for the Packers this season to being a soon to be free agent that will miss his chance to prove himself to anyone. The good news is that Letroy Guion has finally started to practice. The Packers will be depending on Guion to step up in a big way this year. Let’s hope he is up to the challenge.
Outside Linebacker (5):
Clay Matthews
Julius Peppers
Mike Neal
Nick Perry
Andy Mulumba
Nothing to change here.
Inside Linebacker (5):
AJ Hawk
Brad Jones
Jamari Lattimore
Sam Barrington
Carl Bradford
I know it is early but the Packers played Carl Bradford at ILB in practice this week. Not sure why it took them so long to try him there but it needed to be done. It might take Bradford a while to catch on but if he plays up to his explosive potential he could see some snaps later in the season.
Cornerback (5):
Sam Shields
Tramon Williams
Casey Hayward
Davon House
Jarrett Bush
Nothing to change here.
Safety (5):
Micah Hyde
Morgan Burnett
Ha’Sean Clinton-Dix
Sean Richardson
Chris Banjo
Nothing to change here.
Punter (1):
Tim Masthay
The Ginger Wolverine. That is all.
Kicker (1):
Mason Crosby
Mason Crosby will make Packer fans forget the nickname “Missin Crosby” this year. Top 3 fantasy kicker this year. Mark my words.
Long Snapper (1):
Brett Goode
Brett Goode has made a nice little spot for himself on the Packers roster. This name won’t be moved from here until Goode retires. Just like Rob Davis.
Quarterback (2)
Aaron Rodgers
Scott Tolzien
One week, I can forgive; two weeks, I can’t ignore it anymore. Flynn and Tolzien might have been virtually tied for the backup QB job after the first preseason game, but I can’t ignore Flynn’s lack of productivity these last couple of weeks. Even I have to make the change here.
Halfback (3)
Eddie Lacy
James Starks
DuJuan Harris
If anyone thought there was a brewing controversy here, I think Harris put that to bed against the Raiders.
Fullback (1)
John Kuhn
Yep.
Tight End (4)
Brandon Bostick
Andrew Quarless
Richard Rodgers
Ryan Taylor
Hey, Ryan Taylor still exists! Good for him! Justin Perillo has no chance of making this roster anymore. It comes down to Taylor or Stoneburner for the fourth TE spot, and I’m reluctant to pick either one of them. They have their respective upsides, yet I have to think that our predictions at this point come down to our personal preference. I’ll roll with the theory that the coaches will stick with the more veteran of the two players.
Wide Receiver (6)
Jordy Nelson
Randall Cobb
Jarrett Boykin
Davante Adams
Kevin Dorsey
Jeff Janis
If forced to drop one of these gentlemen, it would be Dorsey, but I’m holding out hope that all six guys make it to the final roster. I believe that he can contribute to this team this year. Now that I’ve said that, I’ve probably put the Omarius Hines curse on him, and he’ll be lucky to make the practice squad. I don’t know the odds that the Pack holds this many wideouts, but I will make the argument that Jordy Nelson, in the past, has been the Pack’s #3 QB. So you can have a third QB who holds a clipboard or a sixth WR who returns punts and kickoffs. The choice is yours.
Offensive Tackle (3)
David Bakhtiari
Brian Bulaga
Derek Sherrod
Ugh. I’m still not buying into Sherrod. If he ever establishes himself as a consistent player, I’ll be a little surprised. I hope for the team’s sake that Sherrod will stay healthy, that he will become more consistent, and that there will still be room for me on the back of his bandwagon if those first two things happen.
Offensive Guard (4)
Josh Sitton
T.J. Lang
Lane Taylor
John Fullington
Andrew Tiller has a calf thing, and as of the time I’m writing this, we don’t know how long he could be out, so I can’t put him on the roster.
Center (1)
Corey Linsley
I’m going to guess that J.C. Tretter winds up on short term IR, but that’s not a certainty at this time. “Multiple weeks” and “significant” knee injury are what we keep hearing. It’s possible Tretter stays on the roster and returns in a month or so, but I’ll be pessimistic and guess that they play it safe.
Defensive End (5)
Mike Daniels
Datone Jones
Josh Boyd
Mike Neal
Khyri Thornton
Yet again, no real changes. I moved Boyd to DE because Packers.com has him listed as such.
Nose Tackle (2)
Letroy Guion
Mike Pennel
I just ‘fessed up to being wrong (at least so far) on Pennel on this past week’s podcast, so he’d better not let me down now! His spot on the roster is looking more assured after the injury to Raji was announced. I’m not ready to say that Ryan Pickett or Johnny Jolly get brought in for D-Line depth, so relax on that for the time being.
Outside Linebacker (5)
Clay Matthews
Julius Peppers
Nick Perry
Nate Palmer
Jayrone Elliott
I can’t deny it, Elliott’s a flier, I don’t wanna mess with him*. I still like Carl Bradford, I still think he can make noise for this team this season, but it’s getting harder and harder for me to keep him on this roster. I hope he does, and I’m happy to see he’s getting SOME snaps at ILB at practice.
I want to speculate that Bradford and Palmer getting looks at ILB suggests that the team may be keeping one or the other of them and only keeping three natural ILBs. I am probably reading too much into that though, so forget what I just said.
*Yes, this was another of my attempts to incorporate rap/hip-hop lyrics into my normal speech. Apologies all around.
Inside Linebacker (4)
A.J. Hawk
Brad Jones
Jamari Lattimore
Sam Barrington
Joe Thomas is still out, and is looking more and more like a practice squad guy as a result. The good news is that the Packers will have extra spots on that squad, as the NFL will allow teams to keep ten players rather than just eight. Hard to take Lattimore or Barrington off of this list, so unless one of these guys gets dealt off for some offensive line help, I think we’re looking at these four on the final roster.
Cornerback (5)
Sam Shields
Tramon Williams
Casey Hayward
Davon House
Jarrett Bush
Jumal Rolle has a chance to make this roster, although it may be a slim one. He and Demetri Goodson are probably heading toward that practice squad designation. I’m surprised Ryan White is even on the roster. Davon House is looking great right now; I’m actually very comfortable with him as the Pack’s #4 CB.
Safety (5)
Micah Hyde
Morgan Burnett
Ha’Sean Clinton-Dix
Sean Richardson
Chris Banjo
I’ll stay with this for now.
Punter (1)
Tim Masthay
Kicker (1)
Mason Crosby
Long Snapper (1)
Brett Goode
Amen. Amen. Amen.
Quarterbacks (2):
Aaron Rodgers
Scott Tolzien
I’m even more convinced this week than I was a week ago; Tolzien’s the guy. I know that Packer fans will want to believe that the Matt Flynn that is in training camp this year is the same Matt Flynn who played well enough to win against New England a few years back, threw six touchdown passes against the Lions and lead an epic comeback vs. Dallas last season to help get the Packers to the playoffs. The truth is he’s not the same quarterback and he’s not as good as Tolzien right now. We all know this is a “what have you done for me lately” league, and over the course of training camp and the preseason, Tolzien’s been the better man.
Running Backs (4):
Eddie Lacy
James Starks
DuJuan Harris
John Kuhn
The only interesting position here is fullback. The Packers base lineup doesn’t include a fullback (3 WR’s, 1 RB, 1 TE) and Kuhn hasn’t had the best preseason thus far. He’s a cult hero in Green Bay and it would be a bit or a surprise if he was gone, but the truth is he’s overpaid as a fullback and the Packers could get away with putting Ryan Taylor in the backfield on run plays and not lose much. If the Packers decide they want to keep an extra tight end, Kuhn may be the odd man out.
Wide Receiver (5):
Jordy Nelson
Randall Cobb
Jarrett Boykin
Davante Adams
Jeff Janis
Could Alex Gillett make a late run at a roster spot? The answer is probably not. He’ll be a great practice squad addition but the raw talent simply isn’t there. The last spot will come down to Janis vs. Dorsey, and Janis wins out based on his upside.
Tight End (5):
Richard Rodgers
Brandon Bostick
Andrew Quarless
Ryan Taylor
Jake Stoneburner
The Packers have kept five tight ends before and I have them doing so once again. Stoneburner has played well as of late and may have done just enough to earn himself a spot, at least until Bostick is back healthy.
Offensive Line (9):
David Bakhtiari
Bryan Bulaga
Derek Sherrod
TJ Lang
Josh Sitton
Lane Taylor
JC Tretter
Corey Linsley
Waiver Claim/Free Agent/Trade
The offensive line has been beaten up already and we’ve only played three preseason games. Barclay is out for the year and Tretter will be out at least the first quarter of the season. Aaron Adams is legitimately making a run at making this team but he would be a much better fit on the practice squad for the time being. If the Packers can find a player they liked in the draft process that gets released during final cuts they’d be wise to put in a claim and try and find an improvement over what’s currently on the roster.
Defensive Line (7):
Mike Daniels
Josh Boyd
Datone Jones
Khyri Thornton
Mike Pennel
Letroy Guion
Carlos Gray
I’ve removed Raji and added both Guion and Gray to the team. It may prove difficult to keep seven defensive lineman but the Packers are going to need the depth as the season goes on. Guion and Gray give the Packers size and strength up the middle, something they will need come playoff time.
Edge Rusher (5):
Clay Matthews
Julius Peppers
Mike Neal
Nick Perry
Jayrone Elliott
The Packers have so much depth at outside linebacker that they may feel they can cut three or four players and still get two to three back on the practice squad. Adrian Hubbard, Nate Palmer and Carl Bradford would be prime candidates for the practice squad. I do not believe Andy Mulumba is practice squad eligible, which could put him a leg up to make the team.
Inside Linebacker (4):
AJ Hawk
Brad Jones
Sam Barrington
Jamari Lattimore
There are no changes here, and you never know for sure, but inside linebacker seems pretty straight forward at this point.
Cornerback (5):
Tramon Williams
Sam Shields
Casey Hayward
Jarrett Bush
Davon House
I’ve been high on Jumal Rolle but he simply hasn’t performed at a high enough level the last couple games to warrant a roster spot. Barring a waiver claim, I can’t see any other corners on the roster making the team.
Safety (4):
Morgan Burnett
Micah Hyde
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix
Sean Richardson
Chris Banjo is probably going to make the team, and I’ll continue to regret excluding him from the list, but at the end of the day he again gets left off due to a numbers game.
Special Teams (3):
Tim Masthay
Mason Crosby
Brett Goode
A solid trio of specialists there aren’t going anywhere.
Practice Squad (10):
Jumal Rolle, Rajion Neal, Aaron Adams, Justin Perillo, Kevin Dorsey, Luther Robinson, Alex Gillett, Nate Palmer, Adrian Hubbard, Carl Bradford
Injured Reserve (3):
Jared Abbrederis, Don Barclay, BJ Raji
Thank you for reading. Jeremy VanDerLinden, David Bobke and Andy Herman are weekly contributors for Titletown Sound Off. You can follow them on Twitter @JeremyRVDL @ThatsOurBobbo @SconnieSports. For even more Packers content, follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
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